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Taman stream of consciousness (8)

By: Dan Lett

Posted: 07/29/2008 8:48 PM | Comments: 0

Special prosecutor Marty Minuk has finally taken the witness stand at the Taman inquiry. Commission counsel David Paciocco is currently engaged in a pain-stakingly detailed direct examination of every moment of the prosecution of Derek Harvey-Zenk. Although there is still much to come out, one fascinating observation that arose out of the examination this morning.Minuk was supposed to be a fully independent prosecutor. That means he is not to take any direction from Manitoba Justice. And yet, he had nearly 50 documented constacts with two senior officials in the justice department - Don Slough and Brian Kaplan, or their administrative assistants. At the very least, this to some extent betrays the notion of independence. It certainly does not show an effort to ensure the perception of independence.Was independence an important issue here? It goes to the very heart of the justice system's ability to properly prosecute police officers facing criminal charges.More later.-30-

Dan Lett, Winnipeg Free Press

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About Dan Lett

Dan Lett came to Winnipeg in 1986, less than a year out of journalism school.

Despite the fact that he’s originally from Toronto and has a fatal attraction to the Maple Leafs, Winnipeggers let him stay.

In the following years, he has worked at bureaus covering every level of government – from city hall to the national bureau in Ottawa.

He has had bricks thrown at him in riots following the 1995 Quebec referendum, wrote stories that helped in part to free three wrongly convicted men, met Fidel Castro, interviewed three Philippine presidents, crossed several borders in Africa illegally, chased Somali pirates in a Canadian warship and had several guns pointed at him.

In other words, he’s had every experience a journalist could even hope for. He has also been fortunate enough to be a two-time nominee for a National Newspaper Award, winning in 2003 for investigations.

Other awards include the B’Nai Brith National Human Rights Media Award and nominee for the Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism.

Now firmly rooted in Winnipeg, Dan visits Toronto often but no longer pines to live there.

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